MLS, good and bad The two things this prove is that MLS' ability to adapt and make the right changes is saving its bacon. The other is that, until there are enough soccer only stadiums and real profits being made, MLS is vulnerable to the same fate. WUSA's arrogance has to be taken into account. This venture should have always been partnering with MLS. MLS should take a good look at double header fixtures, next season, with All-Star women's teams. Baby steps that might lead to a properly run women's league.
There could be a very interesting fallout from all this. 1) MLS could gain from promoting one time events (double headers) involving women allstar teams as previously mentioned. 2) Cleveland is now reporting (today) that its WNBA team will announce that it is folding within two weeks. Now coming on the heels of the WUSA closure, it is highly unlikely that the WNBA will find a willing location to support an expansion team. It is more likely that the WNBA will lose another team (Rumor is that Minnesota and/or Charlotte are on very thin ice) and go to 12 teams. 3) Next year should be very interesting in several markets, attendence and TV wise. San Jose should see some attendence upswing. As could Washington and New England. The soccer dollar is limited, and so this could only help MLS in the short term. In the long term, as MLS teams get SSS, it could not hurt having women teams playing in those facilities. Same thing goes for USL teams that build smaller SSS (see Charleston). 4) USL could be a BIG winner. The USL has a league called the W League. Some teams are run by A League and D-3 teams. How many A League teams would kill for the WUSA attendence. Atlanta could benefit from this. It's A league team could combine with its WUSA counterpart. San Diego is an open market for soccer right now. Charlotte has an A league team that could combine it's efforts with what is left from the WUSA team there. There could be a lot of positives that flow from this. WUSA replacement needs to start small, build its base, and go from here.
I think Gund wants to clear off any debts for the next three years because he will have to offer half the gross national product of Finland to keep LeBron James in town after his "rookie" contract is up in 2006.
Bad timing overall One of the articles I read on ESPN's site this morning brought up a very good point that I haven't seen mentioned yet - the US economy for most of WUSA's lifespan made it very difficult to get the sponsorship money they were hoping for. In 1999, when the league was conceived, things were still flying pretty high, but by mid to late 2000 the economy was grinding to a halt with the burst of the tech bubble, exacerbated by 9/11. Corporate sponsorships that would have come in better financial times never materialized. Somewhere along the line the league probably should have undergone a serious examination of their operations. Add to that all the things that have been mentioned before - bad TV deals, poor marketing, expecting national team numbers to translate to local support, expenses of running a league, generally poor support in the United States for women's team sports - and, unfortunately, it looks like this league was doomed by poor management, compounded by bad timing.
All leagues, teams and players have to stop looking to sponsors to solve all their problems. The sponsorship model that existed a few years ago is gone. Corporations have realized that in most cases sponsoring teams, events, etc is just a way of throwing money away - there is no tangible benefit. The only way that sponsorships work today is for the biggest and/or best events, teams, individuals -- ie the Olympics, ManUtd, Beckham, NFL, Lebron, etc OR very low budget niche/local events. The mistake that all new leagues make is trying to be the NFL, NBA, World Cup right away. It takes years of tradition, excellence, excitement and loyalty to create a league that can fill stadiums, or get people to turn on their tvs. If you start a league today you have to accept the fact that you are a MINOR league and you have to act like it. Minor league baseball and hockey do not have huge crowds, tv deals or big $ sponsors. They don't rely on them because they pay the players peanuts and they have tiny staffs who do everything - advertising, selling tickets, taping ankles - whatever is needed. Players in new leagues should accept that fact that they are not going to get rich. They should expect to have to work for a living in play their sport for pocket money.
Beerking, if you don't see the irony in San Hose fans mocking WUSA fans over the demise of their league, get back to me when Landon is in Europe and the Quacks start drawing even worse than they do now. I figure that will happen right before the Seattle Earthquakes are born.
Re: Bad timing overall Someone explain to me how the WUSA could burn through 40 million in it first year, another 40 million in the second, and lose 20 million in the third. There entire salary budget for all players was 15 million a year.... How could this league lose 100 million... We have a lot smart folks here...I dying to know the answer to this.
Re: Bad timing overall Someone explain to me how the WUSA could burn through 40 million in it first year, another 40 million in the second, and lose 20 million in the third. There entire salary budget for all players was 15 million a year.... How could this league lose 100 million... We have a lot smart folks here...I am dying to know the answer to this.
http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_n...t.article&sports=soccer&team=Power&league=mls Dellacamera views on a Sad Day
I wonder where women's soccer in the US goes from here. Is WUSA still the USSF designated division one league? And for long will it hold that designation? Some comments in the news indicate that some players hope a revival occurs after the WWC. Like corporations will see the popularity of the national team and want to have it continue through WUSA. In the meantime, WUSA is the still the designated division one league, preventing any new league from forming. I also read that WUSA approached Uncle Phil and he turned them down. Eventually I think MLS will come up with some sort of women's competition to be used as part of a double header. I think MLS has to wait until WUSA is completely shut down and loses its first division designation from the USSF before it makes any moves.
Dellacamera views http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_n...t.article&sports=soccer&team=Power&league=mls
Re: Re: Bad timing overall Renting the stadia cost money, and the staffs of the teams weren't volunteers, either. Edited to include transportation and lodging for road games...
Mr. Lopresti, USAtoday, opines about soccer and the WUSA http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2003-09-16-lopresti_x.htm Say what you will, but I think you could say that he is happy, and he wishes MLS the same fate. What a complete loser and idiot... Also, he complains in the article about all the e-mail he will receive. Fruedian slip, I say... E-mail hate mail if you want, but do it like Paul Oliu would.... keep it professional!
Re: Re: Bad timing overall -Lots of cross-country travel -High rents -Possibly high insurance rates -Large staffs $40M is $5M per team. That's very realistic to me in this day and age, especially with the travel issue. To me, the issue isn't how did they spend so much money, it's how did they not bring in more money.
Interesting that Lopresti can bury professional soccer in the US without even mentioning a league that draws 15,000 per game. And does the financial sink hole that is the WNBA mean that the US won't support basketball?
Though I don't entirely agree with his ideas on soccer, I must say that was the best anti-soccer article I have ever read. It wasn't typical crap. Though I think he hurt his case with the hockey comparison, since hockey tv ratings are easily better then before the "Miracle On Ice" and hockey is a much more national sport. His comparison was poor. Don't write this guy, he just wants to hear whining from soccer fans.
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